Artist Bio

Ella Fearnside

Before I could even write I was scribbling with crayons, or making a mess of finger paints. I would spend hours in the makeshift art studio in our garage, alongside my dad, simply creating. He taught me everything he knew, and I ate it all up. My passion only grew with my age, as did my creations. I was starving to try new materials, brimming with ideas which came faster than I could put them to paper. I tore through paints, pencils, paper, canvas, clay, and just about everything I could get my hands on. If there was nothing around, I would work with whatever I could find, making leaf art, chalk from stubs of natural charcoal, or designing fairy homes from sticks and bark. I found myself especially enraptured in drawing. I could spend entire days alone with a sketchbook and pencil and be beyond content.
I like to believe being an artist has led me to see the world in a different way. I look upon and imagine the world through an artistic lens, seeing beauty in everything, and am curious about how to translate this perception through different mediums. Being an artist has even translated into my own emotions, and helped me through some of the most difficult moments of my life. It is my outlet, whether that be for joy, pain, anger, or simple appreciation of beauty. When I am at a lack for words I usually turn to paper, and express what I cannot say in a visual language.
Drawing and architecture are a braided passion for me. Very early on I also became fascinated with buildings and curious about their structure, design, history, layout, and details, and I began designing my own, long before I even knew what an architect was. I would enwrap myself in the stories of a building's past, unfolding every detail and marveling over its history. It fascinated me to imagine the different lives that have come and gone within and around a building: an artifact from the past itself, which must be cared for and protected.
Over the years, I’ve spent hours researching different architectural styles, engraving the distinguishing details in my mind, and plucking my favorites from among them. Whenever I find a building that fascinates me, I make a game of guessing the style, and later imitate its features in a new design at home. I’ve developed an extra fondness for the beauty and ornate details of Victorian, Neoclassical, Gothic, and Baroque architecture, and am especially drawn to the Art Deco designs in cities such as Chicago and New York.
My passion has only grown with time, as well as my knowledge and fascination. Deciding to pursue architecture as a career feels like the right place to grow my artistic lens, and one I know, no matter how hard the work may get, that I will never regret. I aspire to create buildings and build up a world which reflects the beauty I seek out everyday. One of my biggest passions is the preservation of history through architecture, and continuing to create architecture which reflects the beauty and details of the past, while still adapting to our changing world. I hope to not only create beauty with my work, but to help others see it as well, and to be a part of helping to build a better world.